November is National Adoption Month

ADOPTION AWARENESS

HOWARD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
2900 Van Ness Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008

November is National Adoption Month

Welcome to Howard University School of Law’s Adoption Awareness website! This site is designed to promote adoption of children in the child welfare system in the Washington Metropolitan Area including the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Northern Virginia. The child welfare system was chosen because thousands of children who are waiting to be adopted in these states are in public child welfare systems. This site offers general information about the adoption process, adoption laws, adoption agencies, adoption attorneys, and selected national web sites that provide a wealth of information about children who are waiting for adoption and about the child welfare system.

Children in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia
Child Welfare Systems

On September 30, 2009, there were 2,111 children in the child welfare system in the District of Columbia. There were 7,052 children in Maryland’s child welfare system and 5,927 children in Virginia’s child welfare system. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau, www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb (July 2010).

The numbers of children who are waiting for adoption change annually (and reports take years for publication) but the most recent adoption statistics in a March 2008 report indicate that 618 children were waiting for adoption in the District of Columbia in fiscal year 2006. More than 1700 (1794) children were waiting for adoption in the State of Virginia; and, the number of children who were waiting for adoption in the neighboring State of Maryland was not reported for the same period. The same report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicates that in fiscal year 2006, only 179 children were adopted with assistance from a public agency in the District of Columbia, 364 were adopted in Maryland; and, 551 were adopted in Virginia (leaving thousands of children without a permanent and loving home. During that period, the total number of children in foster care was: 2,378 in the District of Columbia, 9,051 in Maryland, and 7,672 in Virginia. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau, www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb (March 2008). During this fiscal year, most of the adults who became adoptive parents for these children were foster parents.

A child’s age and gender played roles in these adoptions. In all three states, the highest number of children (ranging from 43% to 50%) adopted with public agency involvement in fiscal year 2006 were between the ages of one and five years old. Approximately 30% of children in each state were six to ten years old. Between 15% and 22% were eleven to fifteen years old; and, between 2% and 6% of children were sixteen to eighteen years old when they were adopted. Also, in each state, more boys were adopted than girls that year: District of Columbia: 55% boys, 45% girls; Maryland: 51% boys, 49% girls; Virginia: 58% boys, 42% girls.

As the table above illustrates, race also was a factor in these adoptions. More African American children were adopted in the District of Columbia and Maryland than in Virginia. The next largest group consists of Caucasian children. Those groups are followed by a smaller number of Latino, Asian, Biracial and children of an unidentified race.

Public adoption agencies and agencies that receive government funding are prohibited from relying upon race to deny a prospective parent’s application to adopt or to delay the process such as waiting for a prospective parent of the child’s race before a child may be adopted. See, e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 1196b.

How many children are waiting for adoption?
In September 2009, 423,773 children were in child welfare systems throughout the United States. Of those children, 114,556 had a goal of adoption. Only 57,466 of the children who could have been adopted were adopted with public agency involvement that year. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau, www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb (July 2010).

Many of the children who are waiting for adoption in the Washington Metropolitan area are considered special needs children. Special needs children are placed in that category because they are harder to place due to certain characteristics including age, race, connection with a sibling group, or a disability that may be mental, emotional, or physical.

Who may adopt a child?
In each state, any qualified adult may adopt a child. Prospective parents include the following adults:

married couples

single men and women

foster parents

stepparents; and

relatives (including aunts, uncles, and grandparents).

Additionally, in some states, unmarried partners (including same-sex couples) may adopt a child. A few states prohibit certain types of adoptions.

In the United States, most adults who adopt children are married couples or single women but single men and unmarried couples adopt a significant number of children. Many relatives including grandparents also adopt several children from the child welfare system.

What are the different types of adoption?
A public agency adoption is one in which the child is adopted from a state agency.
A private agency adoption involves an adoption from a private agency. In some states, an attorney or physician may facilitate an independent adoption. The birth parent may be more involved in independent adoptions including selection of the prospective parent.

An interstate adoption involves a prospective parent and a child who live in different states. The Interstate Compact on Placement of Children applies. Each state has its own Interstate Compact.

An intercountry adoption involves a child and an adoptive parent who are citizens of different countries. A complex system of state, federal, immigration and foreign country laws as well as treaties must be complied with for valid intercountry adoptions.

What will I have to do to adopt a child?
The process varies from state to state and from county to county. However, some aspects of the process that remain consistent that will be discussed here. The prospective parent must start the application process with a decision about the type of adoption agency that the prospective parent will use to facilitate the adoption. Then the prospective parent will complete an application that requires disclosure of personal information such as financial and employment information. An adult who wishes to adopt a child need not be perfect to qualify as an adoptive parent.

The prospective parent also will be fingerprinted so that a criminal background check can be conducted. A prospective parent who has a criminal record will not be excluded automatically. The agency will consider a number of factors including the type of crime that was committed, how long ago the crime was committed, and whether the prospective parent has a lengthy criminal record. In addition, the state will search the child abuse and neglect registry to determine whether any complaints have been made against the prospective parent.

A home assessment will be conducted. The purpose of the assessment is to ascertain whether the prospective parent’s home environment is one in which a child will thrive and whether it will be safe for the child. The prospective parent and any other adult who lives in the home will be interviewed about their reasons for adopting a child and how they intend to parent the child. Also, prospective parents will be educated about the adoption process and what they should expect as adoptive parents.

The prospective parent will be asked to submit to a physical examination. Although the prospective parent need not have a “clean bill of health,” the concern is whether the prospective parent is physically capable of raising a child. Prospective parents who have some illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension may be eligible to adopt a child. Prospective parents who are disabled also may qualify to adopt a child.

The prospective parent may identify a child whom he or she wants to adopt through a number of sources including some of the websites listed below. Then there may be a waiting period while the child lives in the home with the prospective parent for a period of time before the court will impose a final order. In the District of Columbia, the required time is six months. Some states also have residency requirements (the prospective parent must be a resident of the state in which she files a petition to adopt a child).

Finally, the prospective parent must file a petition to adopt with the proper court and the court must approve the adoption based on a determination of whether the adoption will be in the child’s best interests and whether adoption laws have been followed. A new birth certificate with the child’s adoptive name and the adoptive parent(s)’ name will be issued.

How long will the process take?
The length of the process is determined by the type of child that the prospective parent wishes to adopt and other factors. For example, because only a few healthy white infants are waiting for adoption, if a prospective parent only wants to adopt a healthy white infant, he or she may wait several months for a waiting child who meets that description.

On the other hand, many children who are classified as special needs children are available with a much shorter wait time after the prospective parent completes the adoption application and the home assessment processes. The process may be modified, however, for some applicants such as stepparents and relatives with whom the child has lived for a certain period.

How do I contact local public child welfare agencies about my interest in adopting or fostering a child?
Scroll down to the list of Public Child Welfare Agencies in the Metropolitan Area on this website for a list of addresses, telephone numbers and other contact information.

How much will the adoption cost?
Adoption fees vary in accordance with the type of adoption that is undertaken and state and federal tax credits and other financial support that may be available. In the District of Columbia, for example, prospective parents may request a voucher from the District of Columbia Child and Family Services. Upon finalization of the adoption, the District of Columbia will pay the attorney $5000. If the adoption costs more than $5000, the attorney may forgive that amount or make arrangements for the parent to pay the balance in installments.

Uncontested adoptions from a public child welfare agency tend to cost less than other adoptions. When two or more families have filed competing petitions to adopt a child or an adoption is contested, however, the legal expenses will increase because of the additional litigation that the attorney will engage in to prove that it is in the child’s best interests to be placed with his or her client. Thus, the cost of a domestic adoption may range from approximately $5,000 to $40,000.

On the other hand, a few sources are available to assist eligible adoptive parents. They may be reimbursed for non-recurring adoption expenses such as attorney’s fees, court costs, home assessments, birth certificate fees and travel expenses through federal, state, private or corporate funding. Parents may receive state and federal tax credits to defray the costs of adoption. In addition, some corporate employers offer employee benefits for employees who adopt children. Moreover, military parents may be entitled to an additional benefit because of their military status.

Intercountry adoptions involve prospective parents and children who are citizens of different countries. The costs of those adoptions range from $7,000 to $30,000 because of travel and temporary residential expenses, agency expenses in the United States and in the child’s country of origin, and other costs such as translation fees.

Will I receive any support for the child after the adoption?
Adoption subsidies are available for children who are special needs children and other children who qualify for state assistance. Other post-adoption services that may be available for adoptive families include tutors, counseling (for the adoptive family as well as for the child), day care, parenting classes, Medicaid (i.e., prescriptions, glasses and other medical expenses), referrals for other services such as psychological evaluations, and respite care.

Will I be required to interact with the child’s birth family or expectant mother?
Whether an adoptive parent will interact with one or more birth family members depends upon the adoption arrangement. For example, if the child’s birth mother requests and the prospective parent agrees to post-adoption contact, the birth mother may have direct or indirect contact with the child and/or the adoptive family. Examples of indirect contact include letters and photographs that reflect the child’s growth at designated periods. Direct contact could involve visits with the child.

How can I help if I am not ready to adopt a child? Are there alternatives to adoption?
If an adult is not ready to adopt, he or she may decide to act as a foster parent. After undergoing a licensing process, some foster parents provide temporary or long-term care for one or more children and they never intend to adopt a child. Other foster parents are certified to be considered as prospective adoptive parents. In addition, there are programs such as KIDSAVE and Children Uniting Nations in which an adult acts as a mentor for a child. Some other adults may choose to be a child’s legal guardian.

Where can I find an attorney to help me to complete the process?
With significant aid from a state agency, some prospective parents are able to complete the process without an attorney’s assistance. However, scroll down to the List of Attorneys on this website for a list of local adoption attorneys who practice adoption law in the Metropolitan area. If you live outside the Washington metropolitan area, visit the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys’ website for a list of expert adoption attorneys who practice adoption law in states throughout the nation.

(Local)
Adoption statutes govern each aspect of the adoption process including who may adopt, how the adoption process proceeds, and consequences of the adoption. The following statutes govern adoptions in the tri-state area.

Photograph courtesy of Mr. Blair Diggs,
Howard University School of Law

Professor Cynthia R. Mabry
Professor Mabry (JD., 1983, Howard University School of Law; LLM., 1996, New York University School of Law) has been a full-time law teacher since 1993. She is the 2010 recipient of the Warren Rosmarin Professor of Law Award of Excellence in Teaching and Service. Presently, she teaches Adoption Law, Family Law, Civil Procedure and Pretrial Litigation at Howard University School of Law. Professor Mabry is lead co-author of Adoption Law: Theory, Policy and Practice, a legal textbook-one of W. S. Hein & Co.’s best-selling law books. The second edition of the book will be published in November 2010.

Presently fifteen law schools have adopted the textbook. She is an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. Recently, she was appointed as Co-Vice Chair of the Diversity Committee of the ABA Section of Family Law for the year 2010-2011. She is the faculty advisor for the Howard Family Law Society (which she organized) and she developed a Family Law Certificate Program at Howard. Professor Mabry also has taught full-time at New York University School of Law, Washington and Lee University School of Law, and West Virginia University College of Law. She has been a Visiting Professor at the University Of Florida College Of Law, Syracuse University College of Law and the University of the Western Cape in Capetown, South Africa.

She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the American Association of Law Schools, a former Editor for the Family Court Review, a volunteer mediator for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia’s Family Division and a former member of the Citizens Review Board for Children (appointed by Maryland Governor Erhlich). Professor Mabry has made presentations on domestic and international family law issues in several states in the United States.

As a member of the International Family Law Society, she has spoken to international audiences in the Netherlands, China and Italy. She has written several law review articles focusing on a variety of family issues with an emphasis on children’s rights. She has been a member of the District of Columbia Bar since 1983. Professor Mabry was Student Articles Editor of the Howard Law Journal. After she was graduated from Howard, she was a judicial law clerk at state and federal courts in the District of Columbia and Detroit, Michigan. She practiced law in the District of Columbia at Crowell & Moring, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and the Federal Railroad Administration.